To Be More Like Him (2)

In yesterday’s post, I looked at Matthew 25:35-40 and the cause and effect relationship between the way in which Jesus was suffering and how his sheep tended to His needs. I also suggested, that List 2, tells us what we must do in this world, in order to become more like Him.

In this post, I’m going to look at the same list but this time from a different perspective:

1. 2.

I was hungry you gave me food

I was thirsty you gave me drink

I was a stranger you welcomed me

I was naked you clothed me

I was sick you visited me

I was in prison you came to me

In Matthew 25:35-40, I believe that Jesus is also explaining the spiritual journey of faith and how Jesus will tend to OUR needs. Looking at List 1, from the bottom up, I see the life of a person NOT in Christ – imprisoned by the bond of Satan; sick; stripped naked, vulnerable to a world of sin, a stranger to Christ, thirsty and hungry for more…but unable to find the food or water that satisfies.

Looking at List 1, from the top down, we can see the journey to justification and salvation. When God puts the desire in you for Him, you search and you search, but until you realise (or God places a love for Him in your heart), you go hungry. Then, in His grace, He feeds you. You become overwhelmed by a thirst for Him, to know everything and anything about Him. Whatever it is that will bring you closer to Him, you will drink. You go from being a stranger in this world, to being welcomed into the Church, into His arms, His life-everlasting.

The last three items in the list – naked, sick, and prison, speak to me of the temptations in life that we continue to be subjected too BUT which now are covered by Jesus. If we are laid bare before the Devil, Jesus comes and covers us with His love. If we lie sick and troubled, He comes and visits us, to heal us spiritually; and when we feel trapped by the prison of sin, He comes, He comes, He comes, to release us. And so the cycle goes on…hunger, thirst, feeling like a stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. Through it all, however, HE provides, He comes to us, He brings the only water to quench our thirsts, the only Bread to sooth our hunger, and the only love able to cover our nakedness. Only in Him, can we be free. Only in Him, is there safety, comfort, and rest.

When you become a Christian, you go from being vulnerable to the Devil to being clothed by His love and His protection. Jesus came and continues to come to you, until the final day when you are released from the prison of this life, forever.

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3 thoughts on “To Be More Like Him (2)”

Love the perspective you found in this list! Great truth lies in this. We were hungry and he fed our spirits. When thirsty, he gave us living water. And though strangers, he took us in, clothed us, and freed us! And he continues to do so daily! How wonderful. And it is this freedom that makes us able to, in turn, do so for others. Really enjoyed this post, Heather!